Carida

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Carida
Astrographical
Region	Core
Sector	Darpa
System	Carida
Galactic coordinates	(63, 92)
System coordinates	(10, 6)
Suns	Carid
Moons	0
Physical
Primary Terrain	Grassland, Ocean
Planet Type	temperate/breathable
Planet Size	13 x 13
Points of Interest	Imperial Army Headquarters
Societal
Native Species	Human
Official Language	Imperial Basic
Approximate Population	5,659,021 inhabitants
Major Cities
Affiliation	Galactic Empire
Grand Moff	{{{moff}}}

Carida is the home to one of the Galactic Empire's most feared and respected forces in the galaxy; the Imperial Army. Carida prides itself to have become synonymous with the term 'military education' and its renown is spread throughout the Galaxy by the troops that have been trained there. Proximity to Coruscant, the centre of the Empire, inspired the Galactic Empire to invest a significant amount resources in the growth and development of the Imperial Military Academy. Generations of new recruits have been trained to serve the Emperor and the Imperial Order in this intensive stormtrooper program. The physically challenging environment, increased gravity, dangerous predators and insects, carnivorous plants, and varied terrain all push soldiers and their machines to the limit, making Carida perfect as a military training ground for combat in difficult terrain.

Description

Carida is a large, high-gravity world with a deeply varied topography and mostly temperate to warm climate. High ranges of mountains, dotted with sharp crags, frozen ice fields in the higher altitudes, arctic tundra, heaving oceans, dense jungles, forests, vast swamps and great plains characterise the planetary surface. Recruits arriving see Carida’s beauty from orbit and wonder how a planet of such beauty and lushness could have ever earned such a reputation.

Near the southern ocean of Jukrath (some call it the Ice Sea), the slopes fall towards the water’s edge and due to the cold climate and the high concentration of salt in the air only little vegetation is found here. Some parts there form The Hyard Desert, a region so hostile that not even the toughest pioneer plants dare to set root. Surrounding the desert is an arid and rocky area where sharp splinters of volcanic origin pierce the land and give it a ghastly look, giving it the name: The Ghostlands.

Near the south pole, where the ocean is covered in thick pack-ice, the temperature can drop to rather unpleasant -60 C, but due to the high salt content most of the ocean remains ice-free all year long.

The single most important feature of Carida, however, is the campus of the Imperial Military Academy, centered on the Spinara Plateau and surrounded by dagger-like mountains. The Imperial Military Academy is home to the Empire's most important stormtrooper program. It is not uncommon for specialized soldiers in the Empire's forces to have spent at least one semester here. The Imperial Military Academy is composed of several impressive buildings that act as both quarters and training areas, as well as offices. The campus features highly polished white marble columns, reflecting pools, and parade grounds. The architecturally striking main building is a citadel designed to call to mind the old values of military training and tradition. Only the much older buildings on Coruscant are more impressive and intimidating. Enormous turrets and tall, crowned spires punctuate the upper walls surrounding the citadel itself. Numerous storage buildings, drill fields, weaponry ranges, and training facilities surround the main courtyards. Decommissioned Imperial All Terrain Armoured Transports are placed along major footpaths as imposing reminders of the Emperor's might and Imperial engineering.

Stormtrooper candidates undergo harsh training in these environments to prepare themselves for action on a variety of worlds, thusly Carida's main export is military personnel, technology, and industrial machinery. In fact, plans for the development of the Mountain Terrain Armoured Transport were developed on Carida. The MT-AT 'spider walker' design was influenced by the local twelve-legged arachnid that is indigenous to the planet. Little else is provided to the rest of the galaxy except for some raw minerals and a few local food stuffs.

The Imperial Military Academy on Carida is devoted to training personnel in all fields of combat and strategy. While stormtroopers train their skills in combat, officers labour in the vast halls and develop new strategies to ensure victory in all Imperial endeavours.

Officers that have graduated from Carida's Academy take their leadership skills and knowledge into the Empire and are famed for their relentless approach and strategic understanding. The Stormtrooper Officer Training Program is ranked number one in the Empire and takes on part-time students for specialized combat studies. As the Imperial war machine accelerated, the campus has been expanded to include other distinguished programs such as the training of elite Imperial Storm Commandos. The growth and development of Stormtrooper Officers and gunnery crews is among the Academy's specialties. Although the Imperial Military Academy has gained a galaxy-wide reputation for its stormtrooper recruitment and training program, Carida's sprawling campus also offers a wide and diverse curriculum with courses such as Administration, Sciences, Operative Linguistics, Military Theory, Imperial History, Tactics, and Leadership as well as some manner of Engineering and Technical Sciences courses.

The native Caridans are an intelligent humanoid species with thin limbs and heavy barrel chests who originally ran Carida as a mercantile world. Arrangements with the Empire left them mostly retracted to the southern parts where they run mines and other economic ventures that, directly or indirectly, are suppliers to the Galactic Empire. Only little is known about their culture and customs, as they tend to stay on planet and usually do not mingle with their Imperial neighbours.

Other endemic species include poisonous insects, multi-legged reptiles and combat arachnids. The red, twelve-legged arachnids are covered with spines and communicate with each other on a hypersonic level. They are bred by the locals to harvest the diamond-hard chitinous exoskeletons. They also have superb fighting skills and there are local arenas built around the spectacle of seeing them fight as combatants for sport and entertainment.

The planet also has numerous rancors that have been transplanted from Dathomir and used for training exercises, pitting stormtroopers or Imperial vehicles against them. The vast grass plains are home to a bull-like creature called Daatu. This herbivore stands over two meters tall and lives in small herds that seem to do nothing else than graze. Their hide is a valuable commodity as it rather resilient to most bite and claw attacks, and has a high threshold to toxic damage.

The dominant predator on Carida is a bipedal lizard species the natives name Kuu’hat. It is usually green to grey in colour and hunts in packs. While being only about a meter in height, they can run almost as fast as 70 km/h for longer periods of time. Some Kuu’hat have been caught and are held semi-tame in various settlements of the native populace.

Several other carnivores dwell in the forests and jungles across the planet. Among the most dangerous is the flying Jumbal, a poisonous bird species that hunts in the warmer climates around the equator. Its bite is deadly, when not treated with an antiserum and can lead to severe damage to the central nervous system of its prey. They are only as large as 30 to 60 centimetres but pose a deadly threat to those who wander the forested reaches of Carida.

Little is know of the early history of Carida as the natives only have oral history to preserve their cultural heritage. Amongst some tribes written language is still considered taboo. Xenoarchaeologists and other scientists rarely study the aboriginal culture of Carida as it not considered of much intrinsic value. Since the natives keep to themselves and do not share their culture with other species, it is not sure how long they hace lived on Carida, or if they were, in fact, the by-product of an early colonisation attempt from a different world.